Anything magical about no Carb Diets?

No carb diets aren't really a thing. Low carb diets tend to be very satiating, allowing you to achieve a caloric deficit without feeling hungry, and they tend to decouple your energy levels from carb consumption. They can negatively impact your athletic performance (which is largely addressable but requires additional effort) and can be more restrictive in terms of your food choices. Other than that, there isn't a lot of difference.

As for Lebron, you're overreacting to some pictures he posted. You can bet he isn't actually emaciated and almost certainly will return just slightly slimmer than last season.

So based on all my years of reading and my belief, calorie deficit is still the way to go. But every now and then you hear about someone magically losing all kinds of weight in a short period of time on a no carb or low carb diet.

Once example is Lebron James. Recently he went on a no carb diet and in 20 days he looks almost emaciated!

So does a low carb diet get away from calories in and out or do people simply lose weight on a no carb diet due to less calories? Which one is it? Because I think there can only be one truth.

Or is it just that low or no carb diets lose so much water and muscle combined with fat, that it causes you to get smaller very quickly (thought not great long term)?

I want your opinion. Because if there really is anything magical about no carb diets that can help you lose extra weight, then it really would throw out the whole calories in vs calories out science.

I'm pretty sure it's just that by omitting the carbs you're eating less calories.

Depends on what they replace it with if at all.

From my understanding, low carb depletes glycogen stores which can make it look like you're losing weight, and you are, I guess, but going back to eating carbs at any normal amount will restore levels and the weight will come back.

I never did a no carb diet long enough to know if I'd lose faster that way. I can't eliminate carbs. I need my fruits and veggies.

If you want to give it a shot, talk to your doctor and get his approval and then try it out.

The things that stood out to me in your post - "short term" and "emaciated". :noway:

I'm over on my carbs (and fat!) nearly every day, but have reached goal weight, lost many inches/sizes, and kept it off for over two years while still very much enjoying my carbs.

Calories in, calories out. I'm on not in this for the short term, but for life, and there's no way I'm giving up carbs (or anything else!) for the rest of my life. And emaciated is NOT the look I'm going for, that's for sure!

So some guy overreacts to a couple of instagram photos from Lebron and you assume low carb diets cause you to become emaciated? Oy.

Nope, eat all of the carbs you want or there lack of, if you consume more calories than you burn then you will gain weight.

Disclaimer- There are people who genuinely enjoy low carb diets and do well on them, but they still count calories at the end of the day.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the potential muscle and water loss from low carb actually make you lose even more weight and get you even smaller? My cousin lost 30 pounds in 30 days or so he claims. I don't know if it was really 30 days like he said it was, but he sure is 30 pounds smaller and has lost his stomach. He claims that he ate even ''more'' calories on his low carb diet during those 30 days and he didn't really exercise. Now this doesn't seem to make sense, but he swears by it. Sometimes when you busting your *kitten* in the gym and getting slower results, you get tempted to believe it.

I did bod pod tests every week for first 3 months on low carb diet and didn't exercise for first 4 weeks. Lost around 12 pounds in 4 weeks, around 9 pounds was fat and 3 pounds water. Like I said, it depends on individual, if you are sensitive to carbs, you might see better results with low carb diets.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the potential muscle and water loss from low carb actually make you lose even more weight and get you even smaller? My cousin lost 30 pounds in 30 days or so he claims. I don't know if it was really 30 days like he said it was, but he sure is 30 pounds smaller and has lost his stomach. He claims that he ate even ''more'' calories on his low carb diet during those 30 days and he didn't really exercise. Now this doesn't seem to make sense, but he swears by it. Sometimes when you busting your *kitten* in the gym and getting slower results, you get tempted to believe it.

A quick google search would answer your questions. It's called muscle glycogen depletion and it happens when you drastically reduce your carb intake. Essentially your body stores glycogen in your muscles (the storage of which also causes some water retention) and when your dietary carbs are drastically reduced, your body will start drawing this glycogen out of your muscles for fuel. This causes your body to shed the water weight used in the glycogen storage, which results in rapid weight loss on the scale (because your scale only measures your total weight and is not specific to fat loss vs. water loss). If you then do a carb refeed and replenish your glycogen stores, you'll be back to retaining this additional water and the scale will go back up.

What matters though is fat loss and that's determined by your caloric intake vs. expenditure. If a low carb diets helps you achieve a caloric deficit, it'll result in fat loss.

Got a bod pod test to confirm its all muscle glycogen and how much of it is fat loss. The problem with generic statements is there is no proof, just assumptions.

Low carb is okay and useful if you have insulin resistance issues ("pre-diabetes" & type 2 diabetes) for biochemical reasons.

No carb, prolonged, will kill you.

Consider 20g carb/day as the lowest you will go if restricting carbs.

Fat is not necessarily an enemy. Look for Omega-3 fatty acids, which are particularly good for nerves and skin. In the 1960's, era of "Twiggy", the average diet was 45% fat.

Never eat a trans fat because your body has no means to get rid of them and they'll stick around tucked away somewhere (probably an artery wall) until you die.

The important thing is to find a diet that results in a calorie deficit that you can stick to. Carbs get metabolized quickly and can put you on a hunger roller-coaster that makes some people (eg: me) prone to binging. So for me, proteins and fats are always preferred when choosing between one food and another. Some people feel listless on a low carb diet and don't get a hunger roller coaster on carbs. They may find the easiest excess calories to trim are fats. Other people are ravenous unless they physically fill up their stomachs, in which case fiber is their best friend for displacing calories out of their diet.

You have to experiment a little to find out which strategies work best for your body.

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Totally magic .. and totally a stupid idea.

You body needs carbs for energy. If it would not have them .. then it would be eating itself from the insides.

I lost 40+ lbs of fat .. and ate well over 200g of carbs every day. No carb diets are just not necessary.

Actually, your body does NOT need carbs for energy. When you are eating a low carb diet, you use FAT for energy. And your body certainly does not eat itself from the insides. :huh:

That being said, everyone is different. Low carb diets are great for many folks. Low calorie diets work for others. But a NO carb diet? No such thing.

Actually, your body does NOT need carbs for energy. When you are eating a low carb diet, you use FAT for energy.

Only if you don't engage in moderate or higher intensity activity. Those require carbs - the body cannot metabolize fat stores quickly enough to support (for example) a 60 minute run.

Basic rule of thumb is that the less active you are, the lower your "necessary" carb intake.

There are a couple reasons that a lower carb diet will be more beneficial, possibly more effective for some people.

1. Anyone with any type of insulin resistance can benefit from low carb or keeping their blood sugar stable.

2. Also, sugar can beget sugar cravings. I find that the more carbs I eat, the more I want...and can easily overeat therefore, the less I eat, the less I want, the more calories I have leftover for nutrient dense food.

I did it, two years ago, and lost about 20 pounds in 6 weeks, they all returned and more, in about 6 months time.
It was harsh, and I could not do it a second time, though I have tried.
It consisted of max 11 days, eating nothing but eggs, fish, nuts, lean meats, and 1 dairy product a day, cook only in oil, no sauces. 5 to 6 meals a day, lots of water, to be drunk at certain times, and one drink which is made up of freshly pressed fruits. Then you added vegetables for the same number of days, and started the cycle again, till you lose all the weight. To ease out of it, you follow another meal plan, which allows for more types of food.
The only excercise allowed was walking min. half an hour a day.

It did work magically, all the protein and water keeps the hunger away, but it also made me shed hair, and made me end up in hospital for what they feared was a stroke. It wasn't though. Just me making a fool out of myself having too low values of potassium and sodium in my system... That's my (expert) opinion, the doctors decided I had an unusual type of migrain attack.
I still feel ashamed of my behavior then, though I did look great in the emergency unit, wearing my slim dress !
My visceral fat went down from a 5 to a 3 in that short period, so this was a fat loss diet.

I bought the entire diet, so I am using it again (I am a cheap person at heart) but I use the follow-up meal plan now, which is a whole lot more healthier. It makes you combine certain foods, in a 7-week scheme: one protein day, three protein and veggies days, and three everything days. Those days get tossed around each week. It is supposed to confuse your body, and keep the metabolism going. And I cheated today, had melon for breakfast, on a protein-and-veggies day...

Protein diets are in high fashion in Belgium, one of our politicians was very obese, and became half the man he used to be in only 6 months time, on a protein diet (Bart De Wever, you can google him, if you like), and yes, they work to get the weight off quickly, but how to maintain, I am still to figure out myself. Bart De Wever seems to have figured it out though, he is still as slim and it's been probably two years now.

I did not use doctor's advice, and that is where I went wrong, these protein diets are to be done only with a doctor present, I believe, and perhaps never when you are not that severely overweight.

I have been reading many threads at MFP since starting up again 21st of July (too much reading, not enough working, will need to beat that addiction too) and I am developing this new insight into my particular body:

- Apparently, you can be less tolerant to certain foods, and there is a chance that the starches do not agree with me, I do feel better if I cut them out. Had some pasta yesterday evening, and still felt it sitting in my stomach this morning. That said, I am visiting a fair tomorrow, and I will have my chips! and I am still addicted to crisps, so yes, I will never go without those either.
- calorie in/out is the most logical approach to weight loss, and these protein diets might bejust very low calorie-diets, as you can see from my protein days, I hardly get 1000 kcal, but feel very full.
- the composition of my meals probably affect the composition of my body, so healthy might be the way to go
- I am a woman, so at all times, I am allowed to change my opinions. This is not a new insight, just a fact of life.

Edited: typo's

I don't know about the guy you mention or how much he lost in reality, however there is apparently an argument in the notion that low carb diets burn calories faster than ordinary carb diets. Atkins in his book explains it and argues it.

I will just put it like this. The idea is that it takes more energy to metabolise fat than it does to metabolise carbs. i.e. it takes more calories to burn fat than carbs. This is the only hard actual difference.

However, there is another aspect that may make it easier to lose weight on a low carb diet. Because you do not feel so hungry, you are able to eat fewer calories in a day. The reason you do not feel so hungry is because the sensation of hunger is directly related to accessible energy. When you depend on carbs for energy, your body isn't optimise for burning fat so well. When you run short of glycogen, which is one of the forms of carb energy, another one is glucose in the blood, you will feel hunger. Actually you feel hunger both at the time your blood runs out of glucose and then when your muscles and liver run out of glycogen. You can sit through these feelings and they can pass but its hard.

When you are relying on fat for your energy, you have already optimised your body for fat burning by creating a whole bunch of special enzymes or something (sorry i just don't know the technicalities) which make the fat available much faster so you don't actually run out of ready fuel in the way you do when you rely on carbs.

You do actually experience some hunger its just that its not so intense and it seems quite easy to get by on very little calories. However this is not advisable to do for any length of time really. When you lose a lot of fat quite quickly, your body sends more messages out that your body is at risk of dying form starvation and the body will fight back - if you don't feel the hunger, you will start to feel it in other ways and your health will gradually start to suffer. YOu will notice the hunger more strongly if you come off a low carb diet.

Totally magic .. and totally a stupid idea.

You body needs carbs for energy. If it would not have them .. then it would be eating itself from the insides.

I lost 40+ lbs of fat .. and ate well over 200g of carbs every day. No carb diets are just not necessary.

I could say the same about your post..

I lost all of my weight while eating low carb (<20 g per day). I guess your way is more valid than mine since we both employed a caloric deficit...O wait...

PS:(whispers) no one eats a NO carb diet...carbs can be had in everything.

edited for quotes